The Mavericks, which Cuban owns, and the Clippers — which Ballmer bought in May for $2 billion — are in the same division.

Despite wanting the Clippers to bomb, Cuban says he thinks Ballmer is in a "good spot" as an owner, partially because when Cuban bought the Mavericks in 2000, he took a lot of flack for being a tech person getting into sports.

He recalls being scolded by another owner at a meeting, who said he didn't have a right to give suggestions about the NBA when he his background was in dot-com companies, not sports.

More than ten years and a championship win later, though, Cuban's banished that idea. No one will call out Ballmer for shouting like crazy, and coming up with his own management techniques.

"Steve can come in and be Steve. I've paved the way for him," Cuban says. "He's in a great spot, but I hope he f**** up." Cuban says.